ITIL® is ITIL

Sandra Whittleston, University of

Northampton

axelos.com

© The Stationery Office 2012

White Paper
March 2012
 Contents
Executive summary 3
Introduction 3
1 Where is the confusion? 4
2 The challenge of strategies 5
3 The real need for evolving methods 6
4 So what is ITIL and where does it currently fit? 6
5 Reflections and further discoveries 8
6 Where do we go from here? 8
References 9
Further reading 9
About the author 10
Acknowledgements 10
Trade marks and statements 10

© The Stationery Office 2012

 ITIL® is ITIL 3

Executive summary
What exactly is ITIL?
ITIL® is a framework that has evolved to meet the issues organizations face. It started life in the 1980s
when Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, which was concerned with the quality of
service it was getting from its IT, tasked the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency with
developing a framework for the efficient and financially responsible use of IT resources. A team of
experienced professionals with practical knowledge of IT led the process of creating an IT infrastructure
library containing a series of 42 books grouped in specific subject areas. The framework addressed
management rather than technical issues although originally there was a significant technical aspect to
it. As it matured it became clear that ITIL can and should exist above the technical aspects, producing
guidance that is not reliant on any particular technology and still delivering value to the organization.
When the guidance was revised in the mid-2000s, it was recognized that the strategy and continual
service improvement aspects had been largely overlooked, or at least were not clearly identifiable. The
concept of a cyclical approach to the management of IT was raised to encompass the whole of the
service management ‘lifecycle’. This shift to addressing the lifecycle was important as it is vital that
services are seen in their entirety from strategic conception to retirement and that they are reviewed and
improved throughout their life.
As ITIL progressed and matured there became a requirement for individuals to be trained and gain
certification. When the qualification scheme started it was not coordinated centrally. This led to a
mismatch in terms of how a significant part of the community viewed ITIL. It was agreed that it would
be sensible to move towards the unification of qualifications and create a single structure for syllabuses
and exams.
When the lifecycle approach was introduced in 2007, a new set of lifecycle training manuals and
qualifications was introduced (V3). Both schemes (V2 and V3) ran in parallel and there was a
requirement to distinguish between them. A combination of the V2/V3 qualification schemes was then
used to assist in clarifying this position. For the next few years these schemes coexisted very well as they
allowed those who had existing V2 qualifications to continue on their present scheme. However, in 2011,
the V2 scheme was discontinued. The lifecycle approach at the core of the material was improved but it
did not go through a formal version revision. This means that the lifecycle under V3 is now the only
scheme in existence and the need for the distinction has disappeared.
Since its conception ITIL has matured and developed to meet the challenges that IT service management
faces. It has continued to do that from the mainframe days of the 1980s to the clouds of the present
day, but at its heart it is, and will always remain, just ITIL.
Phil Hearsum
ITSM Portfolio Manager, Cabinet Office

Introduction
There can be no doubt that ITIL V3 has caused active debate since its launch in 2007, especially when
IT practitioners were suddenly faced with an updated version. The V2 qualifications had primarily
concentrated on two of the publications, Service Delivery and Service Support, even though the full suite
also covered, for example, improvements to service and the business perspective. The logic behind the
evolution was widely documented at the time that V3 was built on V2. It also provided improvements
and additional material via feedback from those using the techniques in the field and to ensure, amongst
other things, an ‘outcome-based, service value approach’ themed on the service lifecycle. Logically,
Continual Service Improvement was now identified as one of the core texts in V3. Feedback from
practitioners is the mainstay of the evolution and the strength of the latest version comes from offering
enhancements to well-understood processes, describing new approaches in the form of ‘living’ examples
and providing robust connections to business-orientated techniques such as knowledge management.

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4 ITIL® is ITIL

This white paper will explore the core philosophy of ITIL, to demonstrate that it is a dynamic and
structured framework which is meant to have an effect on, and engage proactively with, the business,
and why that is. In particular it will try to challenge some assumptions so that readers will discover the
answers for themselves; it is hoped they will move on from thinking purely in versions and understand
why they are no longer important.

1 Where is the confusion?

There is a multitude of practitioner-led papers on implementing ITIL. Some are written such that they
appear to be version dependent; others not. Key themes emerge, evidenced by the number of IT service
management support organizations producing white papers and guides. Many describe those processes
which might be important in a common set of circumstances. Historically they have focused on service
catalogue, service level agreements, service desk, change management and configuration management.
These were always important in V2 and well understood by IT service management practitioners. It is
essential to understand that they are still core to V3. Latterly, papers have emerged on knowledge
management, service portfolio management and service transition, which are new and topical in V3.
From a practical perspective, whilst these topics are newly acquired and described in ITIL V3, their roots
are from a variety of sources going back over many generations and have their origins elsewhere.
So where is the evidence for their inclusion? In order to answer this question it is important to explore
the vexed issue of organizational dynamics and the role that information systems play.
Organizations are dynamic in nature and supported by a range of systems and subsystems. The
importance of the role of information systems and technology for modern businesses is undisputed. Their
development within an organization is akin to a subset of organizational dynamics with particular themes
relevant to them.
High-quality (academic) research into the social theories surrounding information systems development is
still a niche area. In their landmark work Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems, Mingers
and Willcocks (2005) explored (using various authors’ work) the combined effects of social, philosophical
and systems approaches in order to understand how information systems are used and developed.
Evidence supports the argument that the social constructs of organizations play an important part in
how the IT estate develops. Conversely, similarities can be identified in the development of information
systems and their effects on the organization. This is important because IT and business systems are
evolving, dynamic organisms in their own right, so managing them is bound to be fraught with inherent
difficulties.
Nonaka (1996) describes forms of knowledge key to ‘the one sure source of lasting competitive
advantage’ for an organization. In fact knowledge management has been embedded in business theories
and texts for many years. Research shows that the impact of new and changed technology solutions on
an organization can be positive or negative depending on how they are delivered. It is important to note
that change is strategic, tactical and operational and an organizational concern. It is subject to a wide
range of influences such as culture, organizational dynamics, the pace of change, the forces for change,
resistance to change, perceptions of change, responses to change and organizational and individual
behaviours and their impact on change. With the evidence of the dynamic nature of IT and business
systems it is therefore important to use transitional logic to develop both. Hence the theme of
transitioning services.
Having a business-supported customer self-serve portal is a common approach to customer engagement
and the portal plays its part in customer relationship management. Many IT strategists have long seen
the benefits of so-called ‘soft systems’ approaches. A classic is Senge’s work of the 1960s, updated in
2006, on creating a learning organization built on knowledge transfer. Proactive learning organizations
are intrinsically knowledge-based and evidence shows that considering these issues is important. Soft
Systems Methods, discussed by Checkland and Scholes (1999), argue that there are many ways to reach
‘desired’ end goals that require non-linear approaches. These concepts are firmly embedded in ITIL
philosophy and provide flexibility for IT professionals as they offer opportunities for them to be creative in
their approaches to IT management.

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 ITIL® is ITIL 5

Similarly the concepts of portfolios, value chains and marketing (described in IT terminology in Service
Strategy) are long-standing business development techniques taught notably on master of business
administration courses in universities and used extensively by business executives. There can be no
doubt that they are valuable tools and methods in the debate about strategic business management and
are relevant also to IT.
Is ITIL V3 therefore just a blend of V2 which has been updated, evolved constructively and progressed
sufficiently to include workable scenarios and examples? Not really; it is, at its heart, a logical living
framework for managing IT which works in a variety of circumstances. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
there is confusion about its theme, direction and applicability. So how can this be unpicked and
explored? What might be a key sticking point is the use of the term ‘strategy’ and it will therefore be
essential to explore it in greater detail.

2 The challenge of strategies

The term ‘strategy’ has many definitions which can be applied across all levels of an organization from
business strategy to functional strategy. It can be identified as the amount of detail required to achieve
an end goal. It can also be used euphemistically to describe a series of business articulations to identify
the actions needed for the long-term success of an organization. As Emily Chan (2009) identifies,
business leaders now have tools and other methods at their disposal to ‘bring a significant degree of
analytical rigor into strategy’. According to Chan, these tools and methods are ‘Frameworks, Data
Management, Classic Strategies and Process’. Do these sound familiar? It is important to note that
commonly used business management activities have always been included in ITIL material, particularly
in the Business Perspective publication. Similarly, quality management techniques were described
extensively in Planning to Implement Service Management in the V2 suite of products now embedded in
the continual service improvement process in V3.
As we have seen before, organizations are dynamic entities and in his research, Mintzberg (2000)
describes some fundamental challenges to strategic planning. These are important to note because, as
we will see later, they have a bearing on successful ITIL implementations.
To better understand how strategy is perceived, Mintzberg quotes evidence to describe the symbiotic
relationship between planning and forecasting and the inherent difficulties posed. He states that ‘planning,
in the absence of an ability to control the environment, must rely on forecasting, and because forecasting
amounts to extrapolation of known states, existing trends or recurring patterns planning typically works
best under conditions of relative stability’. To paraphrase Mintzberg, it is also a perception of strategic
planning which has to have a point of reference whereby everything is on hold until the planning is done.
All this is relevant when considering the evolution of services within an organization. With IT’s criticality
within the business, it is essential that information systems development sits at the heart of business
planning. This is, of course, the ethos of ITIL V3 Service Strategy.
To further support this argument, back in 2003, Ross identified that ‘firms have not derived value simply
by linking IT to their business processes. Rather, they have learned how to benefit from IT by developing
a competency in creating and evolving an enterprise IT architecture’. In aligning business strategy and IT
capabilities, IT enterprise architecture has to identify and understand the organization’s strategic
objectives. In her research Ross quoted the challenge faced by a business architect. She stated: ‘So we
started working on understanding the business strategy, and what we discovered was that they really
didn’t have a business strategy. What they had were a lot of promises’. So if understanding the business
strategy is a challenge in itself, how can IT capabilities be developed sufficiently to respond to evolving
needs and within a workable timeframe? The evolving framework of ITIL describes ways which will
significantly improve the success of business strategic and IT architecture planning. Ross’s research
identifies that business improves its value when it capitalizes on the learning from different architectural
approaches, culminating in a resilient modular architectural scenario.

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6 ITIL® is ITIL

3 The real need for evolving methods

ITIL tells us that developing good communications and meaningful processes and working alongside
customers and end users are essential, not least to protect IT from the vagaries of often ill-described
requirements.
The good news is that practitioner reports are increasingly being complemented by high-quality
academic-based research into the benefits of using ITIL. In their exploratory paper Cater-Steel and
Pollard (2009) from South Queensland, Australia describe research-based evidence of success using ITIL
V2 in four companies in Australia and the USA. What is interesting from the research are descriptions of
the critical success factors needed for successful ITIL implementation. Specifically, these are ‘executive
management support, interdepartmental communication and collaboration, use of consultants, training,
careful software selection, creating an ITIL-friendly culture, process as a priority and customer-focussed
metrics’. Whilst this research is somewhat limited because of the research pool (as highlighted by the
authors themselves), it clearly shows that ITIL V2 was more successfully deployed when quality
initiatives, communications, the creation of an end-to-end service culture and, importantly, strategic
direction were in place. These are all key elements in the latest evolution of ITIL.
In trying to advocate different approaches within ITIL itself, are we not preaching to the converted? After
all, we have evidence that V2 worked well in the majority of circumstances as long as it was in the
domain of IT. By integrating the key elements from ITIL V2, it could be argued, we are substantiating
what has been done already and this is acceptable and very well understood. So, four years down the
line from the launch of V3, what do IT service management professionals tell us is important? According
to Rudd (2010) the need to update the ITIL framework was built on:
●● ‘Improving the consistency, structure and comprehensiveness;
●● Focussing on outcomes, service value and business integration;
●● Taking an holistic approach to services and all stages of the Service Lifecycle, particularly in the area
of strategy;
●● Improving alignment with other frameworks and standards such as COBIT®, CMMI®, SOA and ISO/
IEC20000;
●● Improving alignment and consistency with recent developments within the IT industry’.

3.1 What actual or tangible benefits do these points hope to

achieve?
To answer this question it might be useful to review evidence on the fundamental challenges of IT which,
according to authorities, have been inherent from the beginning when technology was first integrated
into businesses.
In his research, Gentle (2007) identifies fundamental difficulties in developing IS systems. These focus
on the challenges of IT trying to understand business requirements (which are intrinsically about human
behaviours and subject to the vagaries of ‘the moving target’), the tensions between supply and demand
and meeting user expectations, and the inherent difficulty for IT in demonstrating value for money. This
echoes feedback from the IT service management industry and academic research. What is interesting
about Gentle’s research is that he clearly shows the dilemmas IT has always faced and he articulates
them into evidence to show that there is a need for a more robust service lifecycle structure which we
now see in the lifecycle approach.

4 So what is ITIL and where does it currently fit?

ITIL is one of the products that sit within the Best Management Practice portfolio. The portfolio of
products has been created on behalf of the Cabinet Office, part of Her Majesty’s Government in the
United Kingdom, which owns the embodied intellectual property.
As technology evolves so do the management practices, so can we say that the management techniques
which befitted the mainframe era no longer apply? Not exactly. The core philosophy of ITIL is that it

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 ITIL® is ITIL 7

responds not only to the technological changes, but also to the needs of the business. IT, through service
management practices, is holding out a very firm hand to the business and therefore, it could be argued,
is taking the initiative. The ultimate success of this approach will depend upon whether ‘the business’ is
able to do the same.
From Cater-Steel and Pollard’s research we have already seen that strategic management support and
end-to-end service cultures are paramount in successfully constructed IT estates. They are therefore
intrinsically business, not IT issues. In their research, Robertson, Ross and Weill (2006) demonstrate
that the key to a successful enterprise approach is to lay the foundations by ‘digitising business
processes to automate a company’s core capabilities’. These must include basic services and
transactions and then those which enhance business capability. According to them ‘an effective
foundation for execution depends on tight alignment between business objectives and IT capabilities’.
Ross et al also demonstrate that key challenges to IT and business alignment are due to business
strategies being too vague, as shown in Ross’s earlier work. Ross et al highlight three key disciplines
which companies need to ‘master’. These are ‘standardising the way data is shared at the operational
level, developing organisational enterprise architecture and developing a series of governance
mechanisms to ensure IT and business projects achieve organisational objectives’. There can be no doubt
these echo the ‘consistency, structure and comprehensiveness’ already seen.
The research in the field shows that the key concepts from the ITIL framework, alongside business
strategic initiatives and effective governance, are crucial to the success of business/IT integration.
So what is the IT service management thought leadership producing? A recent example documented in
an industry paper by Hornbill Service Management (Bolger 2011) suggests, amongst other things, ‘a
customer self-serve portal and knowledge management to try to reduce IT costs in a competitive and
reducing market’. These are, of course, laudable aims in support of business engagement and already
embedded in business customer relationship models.
In support of this argument, just after the launch of V3 an interesting paper was published, written by
various authors and edited by C S Chan (2008). It contained evidence-based research which described
topics such as: the fears of IT managers about using ITIL; how not to deploy IT service management
solutions; and what are important considerations when implementing ITIL. The key themes we have seen
before emerged: business engagement, human resource management, cultural changes (for business and
IT), measurement, governance, programme management and accountability at business level, to name
but a few.
The debate about using ISO/IEC 20000 versus ITIL has also been ongoing. In their document, Dugmore
and Taylor (2008) state that: ‘Changes from ITIL V2 to ITIL V3 include the service lifecycle approach in
ITIL V3 which is a closer alignment to the service lifecycle approach of ISO/IEC 20000’.
IT standards-based solutions are being promoted more and more through conferences and events
primarily to provide ‘enforcement’ of key managerial issues where needed and to embed governance.
There have long been approaches to adopting an organizational quality approach, and building on the
quality theme a plethora of IT standards has been developed. Anecdotal evidence from verbal
discussions with British Computer Society Quality SIG group members suggests that the decision on
which path to take is sometimes made subjectively and can be circumstantially based.
Evidence shows that those organizations that adopt IT management frameworks alongside other
standards-based approaches are more successful in their IT service management (ITSM)
implementations. Standards can assist in building a robust structure which embeds accountability,
especially in terms of legal and financial issues. The flexibility built into the evolving ITIL framework is
crucial to providing the focus and dynamism needed.

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8 ITIL® is ITIL

5 Reflections and further discoveries

Is this debate purely about developing honest communication between IT and the organization’s
executive, not forgetting other business services? If IT professionals, who are using ITIL, are putting out
their hands to the business, clearly the business should be capable of responding appropriately. Often
these days ITIL deployments using the service lifecycle framework are being adopted across other
business areas as is evidenced by the widely available white papers and reports. This is because the
lifecycle (customer-focused initiatives built around an evolving framework) is attractive to them. The
ITSM industry needs high-quality research in this area because it must surely validate the evolving ITIL
framework approach. We also need to build on the high-quality academic research which has emerged
over the past few years.
Most ITSM professionals see ITIL for what it is: a toolkit which does not rely on any particular version
and is non-prescriptive. They have demonstrated that it works very well in the majority of cases and this
is evidenced by the plethora of industry white papers built on practitioner knowledge.
It could be argued that the real debate to be had is not simply about ITIL and the different versions; it is
about persuading the business to come out of its shell and fully support the endeavours of IT. After all,
there are many organizational management and governance frameworks available to business leaders
and the following questions should be asked of them:
●● Do these adopted business methods have to endure the same level of scrutiny about their
effectiveness?
●● Do business strategists fully understand and appreciate the importance of business process
management?
●● Do business strategists fully understand the term ‘sourcing for value; not sourcing for cost savings?’
●● Does the business really understand and have strategies to deal with risk?
●● Does the business make key decisions at the correct level by understanding and embracing risk
positively?
●● Are knowledge-based organizational structures fully supported by human resource strategies?
… and the list goes on.
Maybe the true path for ITIL is to lead by example, nudging business strategists to think more clearly
about their approaches to business process development and its symbiotic relationship with IT. With the
increased use of managed services and the impending mass migration to cloud computing, business
leaders must honestly reflect on their own strategic processes. They must also provide better foundations
for true IT/business integration and let ITSM practices shine through.

6 Where do we go from here?

ITIL, then, is just what it has always been. It is a constantly evolving framework to support IT in its
endeavours to be effective as a strategic asset for the business. On the one hand it provides clarity to IT
personnel so that they clearly know their value and worth. On the other it shows the business that it
cares about what it does and is willing to be scrutinized when appropriate. With the latest incarnation it
has rightly adopted a lifecycle approach which has continual improvement and structured methods at its
heart.
Evidence shows that those who use ITIL working alongside proactive, business-savvy and creative
partners in the organization reap the greatest rewards. Either way ITIL is just ITIL, though an evolved
ITIL and the debate about versions must finally be put to rest, as the techniques have their place in all
aspects of the business, whether they are big or small.

© The Stationery Office 2012

 ITIL® is ITIL 9

References
Bolger P (2011) Cut costs and improve service; a 7 point plan for proactive ITSM, Hornbill Service
Management
Cabinet Office (2007) Service Strategy, The Stationery Office
Cater-Steel A, Pollard C Justifications, Strategies and Critical Success Factors in Successful ITIL
Implementations in US and Australian Companies: An Exploration Study via http://www.informaworld.
com accessed 27/2/11
Chan CS (2008) Enterprise Innovation eGuide to ITIL via www.enterpriseinnovation.net accessed
24/2/11
Chan E (2009) Harvard Business School Confidential: Secrets of Success, John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Checkland P, Scholes J (1999) Soft Systems Methodology in Action John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Dugmore J, Taylor S ITIL® V3 and ISO/IEC 20000® via http://www.best-management-practice.com/
knowledge-Centre/White-Papers accessed 26/2/11
Gentle M (2007) IT Success, Towards a New Model for Information Technology John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Mingers J, Willcocks L (2005) Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems, John Wiley & Sons
Ltd
Mintzberg H (2000) The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Pearson Education Ltd
Nonaka I (1996) The Knowledge Creating Company, International Thomson Business Press
Robertson D, Ross J, Weill P (2006), Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Harvard Business School Press
Ross J (2003) Creating a Strategic IT Architecture Competency: Learning in Stages Massachusetts
Institute of Technology via http://www.mendeley.com/research/creating-strategic-it-architecture-
competency-learning-stages-1/ accessed March 2011
Rudd C (2010) The Manager’s Bridge Certificate in IT Service Management British Informatics Society
Senge P (2006) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation Random House
Business Books

Further reading
Amburgey T, Kelly D, Barnett W (1993) ‘Resetting the Clock: The Dynamics of Organisational Change
and Failure’ Administrative Science Quarterly Vol 38
Arraj V ITIL® The Basics via http://www.best-management-practice.com/knowledge-Centre/White-Papers
accessed 26/2/11
Best Practice Aligning CobIT®4.1, ITIL® V3 and ISO/IEC 27002® for Business Benefit: A Management
Briefing from ITGI and OGC via http://www.best-management-practice.com/knowledge-Centre/White-
Papers accessed 26/2/11
Flood R (1999) Rethinking the Fifth Discipline Routledge
Mullins L (2007) Management and Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall
Shulman D Using ITIL at the IRS: A Business Journey via: http://www.best-management-practice.com/
knowledge-Centre/Best-Practice-Users-Case-Studies-and-Testimonials accessed 26/2/11
Stacey R (2007) The Science of Complexity: An Alternative Perspective for Strategic Change Processes
via Wiley Blackwell online accessed 29/2/11

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10 ITIL® is ITIL

About the author

Sandra Whittleston (BSc Hons Computing) is a senior lecturer in IT service management at the University of
Northampton and a member of People and Education ESC of the itSMF UK. She has worked in education for the
past 27 years and has extensive experience in general and IT management. A regular presenter at IT service
management events, Sandra has written papers and reflections on the subject in academic programmes. Job
roles include head of an academic administrative service, head of management information services and latterly
head of IT quality and projects for central IT services using ITIL processes. Sandra was academic programme
leader for MSc IT service management at the University of Bolton until joining the University of Northampton as
a senior lecturer in IT service management. She is a member of the British Standards Institute Committee for
ISO/IEC 20000, and has recently been involved in the University and Colleges Information Systems Association
(UCISA) ITIL Steering Group. She works closely with the horizon-scanning organization JISC CETIS group. At
national level, she has worked on the Service Futures Group and the e-skills Employer Forum.

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Trade marks and statements

The AXELOS logo is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited.
The AXELOS swirl logo is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited.
ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited

© The Stationery Office 2012